Graham Crackers Were Originally Invented To Be A Health Food
Some sweet foods are obviously decadent (looking at you double chocolate chip). But things get a little muddled when it comes to Graham crackers.
After all, they have the word “cracker” in their name, which implies they’re a step above cookies in the health department. They also usually come in massive sheets, which kinda suggests it’s cool to have a bunch in one go. But they taste like cookies, so… ?
To understand the deal with Graham crackers, it’s a good idea to go over where they came from.
The history of Graham crackers, explained.
Graham crackers were created by a man named Sylvester Graham who was kind of a health nut back in the 1800s. He wrote a book in 1837 called Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making, which talked a lot about the importance of baking your own bread at home that’s free of chemical additives. He was also a big fan of using coarsely ground whole-wheat flour to make bread.
Graham flour became popular because of Graham, and it was originally designed as a healthy thing to use. A story published in the Los Angeles Herald in 1907 describes crackers and bread made from Graham flour as “coarse” and “unpalatable,” and “eaten more as a dietary obligation than as an enjoyable food.”
Eventually, the National Biscuit Company got ahold of Graham flour and created the Graham cracker, which was designed to be used as a dessert-like food. (The Los Angeles Herald says you can use it “instead of bread at any meal” but notes that it’s “almost a dessert.”)
TL; DR: Graham crackers were originally supposed to be a health food and now are more like a cookie. But are Graham crackers healthy today? Nutrition experts weigh in.
What are the common ingredients in store-bought graham crackers?
Every brand has a slightly different recipe, but these are the main ingredients in most:
Flour
Graham flour
Sugar
Brown sugar
Molasses
Oil or shortening
Honey
Some kind of leavening agent (like baking soda)
Salt
How do graham crackers affect your glycemic index?
Backing up a sec: Your glycemic index is a measure of how quickly a food causes your blood sugar levels to rise, per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The glycemic index measures foods on a scale of zero to 100. Foods with a high glycemic index are quickly digested and absorbed into your bloodstream, causing your blood sugar to quickly spike.
Graham crackers have a glycemic index around 74, according to Beth Warren, RD, founder of Beth Warren Nutrition and author of Secrets of a Kosher Girl. “That is considered pretty high and would cause blood sugar to go up pretty quickly,” she says.
FWIW, the high glycemic index of Graham crackers means that they have a lot of carbs that will be digested and released as glucose (a.k.a. sugar) in your blood, says Scott Keatley, RD, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy.
Are Graham crackers vegan?
It depends. While Graham crackers don’t usually contain dairy products or eggs, honey pops up in many graham cracker products. “It ultimately depends on the brand,” says Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet. “If it contains honey, then it is not considered 100 percent vegan.”
Still, Keatley says, “there are ton of well-known brands that are vegan.” These graham cracker brands make vegan products:
Nabisco
Keebler
Kinnikinnicks
Annie’s
“If you're unsure, check the ingredients label,” Keatley says. “Avoid any that have milk, honey, or butter.”
So: Are graham crackers “healthy,” according to nutritionists?
Yeah, no, they’re not healthy. “Graham crackers are not so high in calories, but are definitely high in carbs and sugar for the serving size,” Warren says. “There’s also very little fiber and low nutritional value.”
But it varies, depending on the brand. “This can be used as an example of why it is important to read food labels,” Gans says. But, she adds, “many brands have added sugars and very little fiber that make them on par with having a regular cookie.”
Keatley agrees. “Graham crackers are like any other sweetened cracker,” he says. “The difference comes from the coarseness of the flour used.”
If you want to opt for a healthier Graham cracker, Warren recommends looking for something with more whole food ingredients, like those made by Annie’s or Back to Nature. Still, though, it's a cookie, she says.
But, of course, not everything you put into your mouth needs to be a health food. “Graham crackers are not a health food but they can be a good source of whole grain, a light and easy snack to bring on a hike or to have before a run, and can help make even the most lame fall evening a bit more fun,” Keatley says. And there you have it.
You Might Also Like
